Tuesday, March 22, 2005

While publicly campaigning to be the second black president, John Kerry has proven that while you can't fake them with your color, you can fake them on your seriousness as a Presidential candidate. Turns out that one of his campaign's rally locations has a certain tax-exept status that may have been violated when African-American Kerry came to visit their church, thinking he was a viable option for President.

The IRS has notified a Liberty City church that it is under investigation for possibly engaging in political activity -- putting its tax-exempt status into question.

The probe is related to an appearance last October by Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry and several black leaders, including U.S. Rep. Kendrick Meek of Miami, the Rev. Al Sharpton and the Rev. Jesse Jackson.

The reason for the investigation, an IRS official wrote in a 10-page letter obtained by The Herald, is that "a reasonable belief exists that Friendship Missionary Baptist Church has engaged in political activities that could jeopardize its tax-exempt status as a church."

Rev. Gaston Smith took a break from the revelry and worship of Palm Sunday services to inform the congregation about the inquiry. He said visits by political candidates are nothing new, and that the 75-year-old church did not violate U.S. tax code, as suggested in the letter. He has hired former U.S. Attorney Guy Lewis to defend the church in the inquiry.

Federal tax law prohibits churches from participating in political campaigns. Beyond the legal questions, the inquiry is likely to energize the debate raised last fall about the role of churches during national elections. Watchdog groups complained to the IRS shortly after Kerry's visit to Friendship, saying that it amounted to a "rally."

After diligent investigation, I've been unable to locate which church ordained Mr. Sharpton and Mr. Jackson. Nearest I can tell, Sharpton was ordained by the Organization for Falsely Accusing a Man of Rape. Sharpton was ordained despite the admission of the "victim" that the she was never raped and Sharpton's refusal to acknowledge as such. Jackson looks to be ordained by the Council on Multiple Illegitimate children and remains in good standing with the organization.

If John Kerry would just come clean and admit he was taping an episode of "Faking It", he could probably get the church off the hook. Afterall, nobody really believed Kerry was there because he liked the music, right?